posted
I have frequent migraines. We (my OB-GYN and I) thought that maybe it was my BCP, so we had me switch to a non-estrogen pill. I'm still getting the migraines--having one right now, in fact. So, the plan was that if they didn't go away, I was to make an appointment with the neurologist. I know that migraines often have innocuous causes, so I shouldn't be really worried--but these migraines are really interfering with my life--they're quite annoying. Anyway, I made an appointment and I go next week.
I thought last year that maybe my migraines were related to failing vision. I thought this because things that didn't used to be blurry were now blurry. Now, I'm talking about things far away. I've always had better than 20/20 vision (more like 20/15), so a minor change like that was definitely noticeable. So, I went to the opthamologist. That visit was not very satisfactory, as by the time I talked to the doctor, they had already given me an eye exam and put drops in my eyes. When I tried to explain my sudden blurriness, the doctor acted annoyed and hurriedly gave me the eye test again. I could read the letters, but they were fuzzy--it didn't help that the eye drops made everything look fuzzy anyway, even though they are under the impression that they don't. So, he sent me on my way with a clean bill of eye-health. I guess that since I could figure out what the letters were fairly easily, it didn't matter that the edges of the letters were blurred.
So, fast forward a year, and I'm still frustrated about my migraines. I sometimes make a connection between the migraines and flashes of light or my computer monitor--sometimes an LCD, sometimes a CRT. But the connection is not always there or easily recognizable. I have read that sometimes migraines can be triggered by light.
Oh, I also get visual auras before my migraines. That basically means that about 30 or more minutes before the pain of the migraine begins, my vision goes all wonky. It will start with a barely perceptable spot of blurriness and grow to huge lines that shimmer like heat off of the pavement. This is fairly common. It's very annoying because I lose large patches of periphreal vision--I could look at your eye and not see the whole side of your face. That lasts 30 minutes to an hour, and then I either get the pain of the migraine or not. I take advil the minute the aura begins, so sometimes that's enough to stop the pain--and sometimes I wouldn't get the pain anyway. This is also common with other migraine sufferers with auras.
So anyway... I have noticed that my eyes take a lot longer to adjust to viewing things at different distances. I can be reading a book and look up at the TV across the room, and the subtitle text will be blurry. I can still read it, but it's not crisp text like it usually is. Perhaps THAT is how I need to describe my vision problems to the doctor. I told a coworker and she said it sounded like I needed glasses to her. I feel like my eyes are overworking to compensate for vision that isn't as good as it used to be.
Sometimes, I can be sitting in a meeting and the overhead projection will be blurry--sometimes this is because they haven't focused the screen, and sometimes I think this is because of my eyes. It's really hard to tell.
I feel sometimes as if maybe I'm just starting to get 20/20 vision, and I'm just spoiled because I'm used to 20/15. But I don't think my problems adjusting my focus are what a 20/20 person should experience. And I also wonder if my eye problems could be causing my migraines, or if my eye problems are a symptom of my migraines, or if they're simply not related at all, apart from my actual visual auras.
And I also wonder sometimes if I'm one of the very few who get migraines because of a tumor or something. I know that's highly unlikely, but still... not knowing why these things happen is very frustrating.
Does anyone else have any experience with this sort of thing? Either the migraines or the vision problems? Does the fact that I can read text but it is still blurry mean anything?
Thanks for your thoughts...
Posts: 2880 | Registered: Jun 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
I have both. But... I have cataracts, which contribute to the light sensitivity which was already there, which can induce migraines, and also make my vision blurrier than usual. So, not exactly helpful. No clue what your vision problems indicate, if anything other than aging.
I've had migraines since I was four or five, but I've also had cat scans since then to rule out anything like tumours, aneurisms, and the like. Migraines run in our family.
If you haven't gone the route of running through the most likely allergens/triggers of migraines, I'd suggest doing that now. It's been a while since I've read the list, but it included things like red wine, chocolate, dairy, and a bunch of other things. Eliminate those as the source of your migraines.
True, migraines often have innocuous, even unknown causes, but whenever there's a change in the pattern, it warrants a visit to the doc. I would still suggest you see a neurologist to rule out anything serious.
Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
I really should have gone last year, when I started to get migraines frequently again. I just blamed them on the BCP and didn't do anything about them. I figured, and I might be right, that they were hormone related, as I used to get them in high school.
I haven't been able to figure out a trigger. I will need to start carrying around a food diary. My problem is that when I go several days without a migraine, I forget to record what I've been eating--then I get one, and I have no record. I'll have to pay much closer attention to that.
My mom's triggers are hard cheeses and chocolate. I don't think chocolate is my trigger, since I would have a lot more migraines than I do if it were. Cheddar, a hard cheese, doesn't seem to bring on a migraine, but I think there *may* be a connection to fancier hard cheeses. Again, not sure. And there's still the possibility of light triggers.
There's also something weird that happens to me sometimes, but I'm not sure how to explain it. Sometimes it's like my head seems really big, and even though my vision is perfectly fine, I feel as if there's a problem with my eyes. Sometimes this is like a rushing or pulsating in my head, and sometimes it's just this vague feeling of too much light or something like that... like it's thick and pushing into my head a little too hard. I don't think that's a very good explanation, but I have no idea how to explain it. It's not exactly nausea and dizziness, but it's a little like that. Light is definitely a big part of the sensation. It's like I'm walking and I feel like I'm in a different place/world. Or that I'm separated from reality. But it's not a psychological disturbance that I feel... it's all physical. *shrugs* I wish I could describe it. Even when it's happening I have no idea how to explain it.
But yes, I'm definitely going to go to the neurologist. And I'll probably go to a different opthamologist and insist that I speak to the doctor BEFORE they put in eye drops.
Posts: 2880 | Registered: Jun 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
Hey, no, that explanation was perfect - I've had it many many times. For me, though, it's a symptom of my perimenopause.
I don't know how old you are, but I think you're somewhere in my age range. Have you had your hormone levels checked recently to see if maybe they're different from before the migraines got worse? Is it possible your estrogen is falling or something like that?
The other thing about food triggers is that it isn't always one thing. Sometimes, it's a combination, like red wine and chocolate, but not red wine alone and not chocolate alone. That's part of the reason a food diary is so important.
posted
A friend of mine at work had really bad migraines, and took medicine for migraines.
Then, this year, she got pregnant (first time) Hasn't had a migraine since (she is due to deliver sometime this week). She wonders if the migraines will come back after she gives birth.
But that just pretty much showed for her it was hormone related. But I hear migraines can have all kinds of different causes.
posted
I'll make another suggestion: The blurriness and slow-focusing are the result of ComputerVisionSyndrome, which causes your eyes to overwork within the narrow range of computer-viewing distance, which in turn causes your vision system to become lazy, ie less adept at adapting&processing to other distances. It's a common enough problem in the IT industry that I'm surprised that your optomotrist/opthamologist didn't ask you whether you worked with computers, and recommend computer glasses to lessen the eyestrain. The glasses may even get rid of most of the headaches. Cuz "start with a barely perceptable spot of blurriness and grow to huge lines that shimmer like heat off of the pavement" isn't a classical description of a (pre)migraine aura. It sounds more like / may be sudden high blood pressure triggering glaucoma-like pressure within your eyeballs.
During a (pre)migraine aura, a kaleidoscope of electricly colorful geometric forms* begins filling the peripheral vision then works inward to interfere with central vision. About the only other experience commonly described with "kaleidoscope of electricly colorful geometric forms" is during peyote/mescaline use (which may partially explain the artwork of SouthWestern NativeAmericans). Some people experience migraines with no headache, with only the aura as a symptom; which is why I used (pre).
quote:And I'll probably go to a different opthamologist and insist that I speak to the doctor BEFORE they put in eye drops.
If you haven't gone to an eye doctor many times in your life, then you might not realise that it's normal for the technicians to do some tests before you see the actual doctor. When I was younger, I recall them doing some tests for color-blindness. I believe I've also had some tests done to check peripheral vision. I remember looking into a machine, and I had to stare straight ahead at a picture, and let them know when i saw a flashing light on either side. The light got further and further "back" on the side, hence why I'm calling this a peripheral vision test.
I just got new glasses last year, and we did a few tests/measurements before I saw the doctor. One test (which I was expecting) was a glaucoma test. They blow a puff of air in your eye to measure the pressure in the eye. Another "test" wasn't really a test--I had to look into a machine and stare at a picture with my eyes wide open, and they took a photo of my eye.
The eye drops they give you cause your pupils to dilate. I've never had this done, but it's a fairly common test. According to this article, it's done to check the retina for disease. That article also lists other tests that may be performed at an eye care visit.
If you're concerned that the eye drops may effect your vision and skew the test results, then yes, I would mention it to the techs, to see if it could wait until after you see the doctor. Some of the other tests probably can't wait, though--they give the doctor important information about the health of your eyes.
Finally--I don't know anything about migraines (since I don't experience them) but I think what you're experiencing would warrant a visit to an eye doctor. I went to see one last year not only because i was way overdue, but because some medication I was on was given me vision problems and I was worried about that. Vision problems can also be a sign of other problems in the body, so it's good to get them checked out, especially as you get older.
Posts: 1805 | Registered: Jun 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
My only time I went to an eye doctor, years ago, I was suffering from similar experience with vision, but not the headaches. The eye-doctor said it was "lazy eyes" from spending too much time, not on a computer screen, but reading books. He prescribed a plan of every hour taking five minutes and move from staring at the book/screen to staring at an object across the room. When that came in focus, go back to the book. Repeat until the adjustment time was close to 0.
It did seem to help, and when I spend too long on the computer or reading, I practice it again.
Of course, getting up and moving around will do that test automatically, and also reduce some of my computer-tummy.
Posts: 11895 | Registered: Apr 2002
| IP: Logged |
CVS is pretty darn fascinating. I've never heard of it before, but I OFTEN have problems just looking at my computer screen. I spend hooours looking at my screen every day, too.
Posts: 2880 | Registered: Jun 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
I just read something about a tint that they add to these special glasses sometimes, to affect the perceived brightness problems. I get that, too. I have the brightness turned all the way down on my computer at home, and it still seems way too bright. I was turning down the contrast, too, in an effort to make it better. That didn't help much.
I hope it's something simple like this. I would look forward to having glasses that helped my eyes when using the computer.
Posts: 2880 | Registered: Jun 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
Oh, and I've read about other people's visual auras before a migraine, and I've always felt that mine were pretty classic symptoms. I haven't read anything about it needing to be colorful.
posted
Katarain, I'm your age and I also get migraines. Not nearly as often now that I know what my triggers are (caffeine, bad fluorescent lighting, tiredness, excessive sugar).
My migraines showed up when I was in high school, about the same time my Seasonal Affective Disorder did. Coincidence? Hard to say. In any case, I got my vision checked then, and it was perfect and hasn't changed.
A partially-related story: Back before I got good health insurance, I used to go to Planned Parenthood for subsidized BCP. I was one the same pills for years and years, and they were great, with minimal side effects... and then one year I went in and they refused to sell me my usual pills -- they said that research had shown a relationship between migraines and strokes in people taking estrogen-based pills.
So I switched to Progesterone-only pills, which sucked for reasons I don't need to get into here. Several months thereafter I got better health insurance and was able to get a second opinion. My new doctor gave me a prescription for a nice estrogen-based pill and had me go talk to the neurologist about the migraine/stroke thing.
The neurologist asked me questions that Planned Parenthood hadn't bothered with, like "How severe are the migraines?", "How do the headaches manifest themselves?", and "Do you smoke?"
The upshot is that the study Planned Parenthood was basing its judgement on found an increased risk of stroke in people on estrogen-based pills who ALSO SMOKE, AND have a completely different kind of migraine from what I get. Sheesh.
Posts: 1785 | Registered: May 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
Thanks, btw, for the link to different descriptions of visual auras.
My auras are pretty much black & white, and they're like the grainy static on an old TV screen. They start as a dot that behaves like an afterimage in the center of my vision. The dot gets bigger, turns into a doughnut, and moves outward until it disappears at the periphery of my vision -- this process takes maybe five minutes -- and that's when the pain begins. If I manage to take an Excedrin Migraine as soon as I notice the aura, then sometimes I can avoid the pain.
Once at work I had to work with some striped fabric (black and yellow, with 1cm-wide stripes). I prudently took a couple of Excedrins before I even started, and it was weird: I got the aura, but without the headache.
Does it still count as a migraine if symptoms appear on both sides?
Posts: 1785 | Registered: May 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
Yeah, I don't think I'll be on the Progesterone pills for much longer. My doctor also failed to tell me they're only 80% effective, and that's when you remember to take them at the same time everyday. You get a little more leeway with the time you take the pill with the others. My doctor is awesome, though, so I can forgive her forgetting to tell me that. But since they're not helping my migraines, the other symptoms are definitely not worth it.
I wouldn't be surprised if fluorescent lighting was a cause. I often get a headache within an hour or two of coming to work and working under these lights. That's one of the reasons I would be excited to get computer glasses with a tint to reduce the badness caused by the lighting in here. Maybe I could also get a tinted pair without a prescription for just walking around the office. I wonder what color I'd need...
Posts: 2880 | Registered: Jun 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
I suspect whether one is afflicted by CVS and the severity of CVS has more to do with age*, the constancy of the distance with which one views the screen, and the number and lengths of breaks away from the screen than it does with viewing time in and of itself. ie Transcribers and other people monitored for and judged by the number of keystrokes per hour or lines of code per day are probably the most affected by CVS. Especially when the unofficial work"break"s usually consist of reading news, answering email, playing a game, etc on the same computer screen.
* On average, younger people have better focus control because they have more flexibility in their lenses, which tend to become more rigid with age.
Posts: 8501 | Registered: Jul 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
I'm not sure what you mean by symptoms appearing on both sides. You mean you get blurriness after the pain?
My auras last MUCH longer than yours, and I often don't get the pain of the migraine afterwards. Perhaps that'd be more of an ocular migraine--but, whatever they call it, it's not fun. But I usually get the nausea and dizziness associated with my migraines no matter what.
What happens to my vision is quite similar to what happens to you, but it's more like a C than an O. The zigzag pattern in the blurry lines I see is also a good description.
Your story about the fabric triggering an aura is really interesting. It's strange what can set one off...
It's odd, because I do a lot of really up-close work in my spare time. I love to do thread crochet, so I'm often working with a tiny crochet hook and thread. I never really have a problem focusing. It's the switching that is a problem. I've done some googling, and evidently this is common. I think a trip to the eye doctor is in order--to address the accomodation (trouble focusing) problem, and the computer vision problem--and also the possibility of using tinted glasses.
I'm not really thrilled about turning 29... but I have no issues with getting glasses for the first time in my life. I've always thought they've looked good on me, and even if they didn't--having comfortable eyes is much more important to me. I'm actually eager to get glasses if I really need them, so that I can get some relief. I'll be disappointed if the eye doctor tells me glasses won't help me--because then I'll have no way to fix the problems I've been having with my eyes.
Oh, and about the exams, I am fine with them testing my eyes before I'm seen, but I do NOT want the drops. They interfere with my vision, and that test is not what I'm there for. Besides, since they did that test last year, I doubt I need it again--and if I do, they can do it afterwards.
Posts: 2880 | Registered: Jun 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
Supposedly a migraine happens on one side of the head only.
When I have an aura, it's sometimes in both eyes -- if I close one eye at a time, it doesn't disappear. And sometimes I can't isolate which side the headache is on: it's on both. But I still think of it as a migraine, because it's a distinctive type of pain.
The trigger in old fluorescent lights is the flickering and buzzing, which often don't register in your consciousness. So I don't know if dark glasses would help, but they might. In my own personal experience, normal lighting is better than dim lighting in terms of triggering a migraine, because then my eyes don't have to strain.
Posts: 1785 | Registered: May 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
I don't get auras. I get pressure in an eye (usually my right eye, though the last two were in my left eye). It gets worse and worse, and light becomes intolerable. It's been a long time since I felt a migraine in full, because I have a box of Zomig in the medicine cabinet at home, and when I feel one coming on and I'm sure it's not just the weather or something, I take one and go away.
Sometimes I see a red spot. Not always. I think that's only on the right side.
Posts: 12266 | Registered: Jul 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
One of the ways I can tell a visual aura from a floater is that it is in BOTH eyes. That is an indication that it's a neural thingy rather than an eye thingy. I am so technical...
I've not really noticed a tendency of my migraine pain to be on one side or the other. It's sometimes in the front, sometimes in the back, sometimes in the side... always a pain in the rear...
posted
Migraines can be bilateral. They are more commonly unilateral, but bilateral migraines certainly do happen.
The most agreed-upon criteria for migraine diagnosis are from the International Headache Society (1988). These are also the most stringent criteria used in general, and you can note that the unilateral quality is 1 of a set of 4 criteria, only 2 of which must be fulfilled to make the diagnosis -- so any 2 of the other 3 alone would suffice. With an aura, the criteria are even less stringent.
Mind you, many physicians will diagnose migraines outside these criteria, using a looser definition of the diagnosis. And many physicians may be diagnosing by "feel" or "gut" rather than by actual diagnostic criteria. That isn't the way I was trained, but I know it does go on, and it may work out well in many cases. It just isn't standardized or as reliable/replicatable.
Posts: 14017 | Registered: May 2000
| IP: Logged |
quote:People who spend more than two hours on a computer each day will experience symptoms of CVS or Computer Vision Syndrome.
two hours or more?
Wow, aspectre, isn't that like... nearly EVERYONE?
Everyone here, probably. But I know a fair number of people who actually don't spend that much time on a computer on a daily basis.
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
| IP: Logged |
quote:I wouldn't be surprised if fluorescent lighting was a cause. I often get a headache within an hour or two of coming to work and working under these lights.
Fluorescent lighting sets mine off, and I do notice the flicker. The flickering of computer screens is also noticeable to me, despite it not being noticeable to pretty much anyone else. It would seem that I'm extremely light sensitive.
I also get bilateral migraines and my auras are not in color - just very very bright and painful.
Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
I should chime in here and say mine are bilateral (visible in both eyes). In me, they're usually triggered by flashing or shimmering light or by high contrast environments; looking out a bright window frequently, while in a relatively dark room, can set it off. Auras usually last 10 to 30 minutes, in my experience.
The normal cure I use is to immediately take two tylenol upon noticing the aura. The headache varies in intensity.
Oh, and I avoid driving until it clears up. Posts: 1813 | Registered: Apr 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
Which reminds me... On the link that CT gave, I noticed it said something about one of the criteria being an aura that lasts for no longer than 30 minutes (an hour? Something like that), but mine sometimes last much, much, much longer than that. So, those aren't migraines? Then what are they?
Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
My auras aren't painful themselves. I have a vague feeling of nausea or dizziness (a general feeling of sickness), which continues after the aura is gone. And mine vary in length...anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour or more. Actually, I'm not sure if they've ever been over an hour. I've only "kind of" timed them, as they don't really put me in the mood for record keeping. Posts: 2880 | Registered: Jun 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
Those diagnostic criteria are the most stringent I know of in current use. I was noting that even these do not have unilaterality as a prerequisite for making the diagnosis of migraines (although it is considered a common feature).
There are separate criteria for diagnosing migraine with and without aura.
quote:Originally posted by quidscribis: Which reminds me... On the link that CT gave, I noticed it said something about one of the criteria being an aura that lasts for no longer than 30 minutes (an hour? Something like that), but mine sometimes last much, much, much longer than that. So, those aren't migraines? Then what are they?
The requirement for diagnosing migraine with aura is to fulfill at least 3 of the 4 criteria listed. That means that you might not fulfill 1 (e.g., time-limited aura) and still fulfill the other 3 [thus fulfilling the checklist overall sufficiently].
Or (if you didn't fulfill the other 3 criteria), you might have a headache which is migranous in quality but does not meet these stringent criteria -- perhaps it is a variant. The criteria aid in standardization for treatment protocols and interpreting research. They don't rule out variants of the standard pathophysiology.
Printer-friendly view of this topic
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
For me, though, it's a symptom of my perimenopause.![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
